A journey to search my soul

This is a blog of my personal collections. The purpose of this blog is to educate myself and public in regards to antiquities especially related to religion and calligraphy. I welcome everyone to input their feedback in this blog which they think would be helpful. I do not watermark the photos in this blog so everyone is free to use them as long as they are not used for illegal and unethical reasons. I appreciate if you could notify me if you plan to use any of the photos here. Enjoy browsing!!

Monday, December 31, 2012

This is an Ingot or Bidor from Perak Sultanate as early as 16th century.
This form of currency is called tin ingot. These ingots were casted of
fixed weight and used for all major transactions in the bazaar as a form
of currency.The value of each ingot depends upon its weight. By mid
1850's , ingots were gradually replaced by coinages.
Check my other Peraqk Bidor belowPerak BidorPerak Bidor

Thursday, December 27, 2012

This is a mini handwritten Quran acquired from Turkey. It is a complete Quran however I suspected the last 4 pages were replaced due to inconsistent handwriting. The Quran was written in a simple Naskh
calligraphy. Undated but probably about 200-300 years old based on the design of its binding.
See my other mini Qurans in below link :

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

These are beautifully written
Quran manuscripts originated from Etiopia. Its believed to have been
written in 18-19th century. This manuscript is written in Sudanese type
calligraphy in black ink on western paper 11 lines to a page. I still need to do
more research about this type of calligraphy. It looks in between Sudani &
Somali calligraphy but definitely stemmed from Maghribi style. Brown leather binding beautifully embossed in a middle with a flap.
The borders of the pages are ruled with double line red .

The first
manuscript which contains the opening Surah Al Fatihah has the first 2 pages
beautifully decorated.

There are supposed
to have 3 manuscripts ( 30 juzs) for the complete Quran. However I only managed
to acquire 2 manuscripts out of 3.

No date but it is estimated written in 18-19th century. There are numerous prayers and notes written on blank pages between main text and cover. There is a note stating the owner of this Quran is Kamil Bin Qasim (baladah Irkawi ?)from Har Etiopia.

This is a very rare acquisition because we dont see many
Etiopian Quran in the market or in international hands. I am blessed to have
acquired these manuscripts. In recent christie's auction on Oct 2014 in London, a similar Quran was sold for USD5223 ( Sale 5526 Lot 367)
Look my other Etiopian Qurans as below links:

This is a gold coin from Sultan Perkasa Alam era. He is the cousin of Sultanah Kamalat Shah and reigned Aceh from 1702 - 1703 CE.

Aceh is a state located at the
northern end of Sumatra island ( Indonesia). It is also known by its Arabic
honorific Darus Salam ( Abode of Peace) from 1511-1959 CE.Aceh's origins are
unquestionably Cham, as the Champa king Syah Pau Kubah sent his son Syah Pau
Ling to rule over Aceh when the capital Vijaya in 1471 AD, was sacked by the
Vietnamese Le Dynasty.The Sultanate of Aceh was founded in 1511 CE after the
fall of Pasai Sultanate by Sultan Ali Mughayat Shah. It’s presumed that he is
the same person as Syah Pau Ling who converted to Islam.The Sultanate lasted
till 1903 when the last Aceh Sultan Muhammad III Daud Shah Johan Berdaulat
surrendered to Dutch occupation.

This is my first aquisition of Chinese Quran. Supposedly this Quran consists of 30 separate volumes ( for 30 juz), unfortunately at the time of purchase, only this volume was available. According to the seller, he purchased this sole manuscript from a Jewish in London quite some time ago.

I reckon I was lucky because this manuscript is the first juz of the Quran. The opening Surah Al Fatihah has the first 2 pages
beautifully decorated. I could spot some resemblances of the frame design to the Chinese Quran illustrated in books, "Quran Manuscripts" pg 82 by Colin F. Baker & " AL Quran The Sacred Art of Revelation" pg 244 by IAMM.

The last 2 pages are also beautifully decorated with chinese flower motives.

On the last page there is a scribble on prayer and some other notes which I couldn't decipher.

The unique thing about Chinese Quran is the callligraphy which is called Sini script. It is similar to Muhaqqaq. See my Levantine Quran which uses Muhaqaq script. In addition to that compare with my other entry on India Bihari Quran which has slight resemblances.

Monday, December 17, 2012

These are beautifully written
Quran manuscripts in juz form originated from Etiopia. Its believed to have been written in
18-19th century. This manuscript is written in Sudanese type calligraphy in
black ink on western paper 11 lines to a page. I still need to do more research
about this type of calligraphy. It looks in between Sudani & Somali
calligraphy but definitely stemmed from Maghribi style. Brown
leather binding beautifully embossed in a middle with a flap. The
borders of the pages are ruled with double line red .

The first manuscript which contains the opening Surah Al Fatihah has the first 2 pages beautifully decorated.

There are supposed to have 30 manuscripts ( 30 juzs) for the complete Quran. However I only managed to acquire 23 manuscripts out of 30 as the rest were sold to others by the original owner. This is a very rare acquisition because we dont see many Etiopian Quran
in the market or in international hands. I am blessed to have acquired these
manuscripts.

This is one of the best books explaining Malaysian numismatic history corroborated with beautiful graphic layout & illustrations. Reading this book could never be boring. For a coin collector, this is a very good reference in learning the history of the coin as well as the history of this country as a whole.
I have seen previous Malaysian Numismatic reference books published by various entities such as Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia Numismatic Society & private dealers; the common drawback of these books is that they normally use their own coins as references in their books i.e some references on specific coins exist in some book but might not exist in the others.
However this book is a contribution of numismatic information from various entities, 11 museums, 5 experts & Bank Negara Malaysia, hence making this book almost perfect.
The layout of the pages are very presentable with coins pictures are arranged in such a way comparison can be made easily.
I recommend this book to beginner and aprofessional collector alike. I purchased this book from Islamic Art Museum Shop for RM220. The best book!!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

This is a gold coin from Sultan Badr Alam era. His real name is Jamal AL Leil who is an Arab. He reigned Aceh from 1699 - 1702 CE.He was not a popular sultan with poor policy & administration. He was abdicted voluntarily in 1702 CE.

Aceh is a state
located at the northern end of Sumatra island ( Indonesia). It is also known by
its Arabic honorific Darus Salam ( Abode of Peace) from 1511-1959 CE.Aceh's
origins are unquestionably Cham, as the Champa king Syah Pau Kubah sent his son
Syah Pau Ling to rule over Aceh when the capital Vijaya in 1471 AD, was sacked
by the Vietnamese Le Dynasty.The Sultanate of Aceh was founded in 1511 CE
after the fall of Pasai Sultanate by Sultan Ali Mughayat Shah. It’s presumed
that he is the same person as Syah Pau Ling who converted to Islam.The
Sultanate lasted till 1903 when the last Aceh Sultan Muhammad III Daud Shah
Johan Berdaulat surrendered to Dutch occupation.

Friday, December 14, 2012

This is a manuscript of Batak tribe ( Indonesia) made of tree bark. The bast of a tree is pulled off in long strips and then prepared and folded like an accordion.
I couldnt understand the content of this manuscript however from the book "Illuminations The writing Traditions of Indonesia" this manuscrit is called pustaha or pustaka. It contains texts on the tribal rituals, oracles & medicine recipes.
Normally this manuscript comes with 2 wooden covers which are missing. This manuscript if unfolded is about 335 cm. Dimension is 25 cm by 18 cm.
This Pustaka was written in Batak script and in this specific manuscript only ones who are trained culd understand the content. According to Van De Tuuk, this text is composed in the language code referred to as Hata Poda.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

This is a coin I believed from the reign of Ummayad Caliph Al Walid Ibn Abd Al Malik. The design and legends are obviously from Ummayad and there is a year which I could roughly read as " sanah ithnin wa tsien" which means year 92 AH. Looking at the Ummayad ruler list, Al Walid reigned from 86-96 AH. Hence I could safely attribute this coin to him. However the mint place is mentioned as Kirman, I tried to find from The Maskukat Collection website, couldnt find any coin minted in Kirman during that year from the website. Yes I need to do more research. If you have any info on this coin please send feedbacks. Thanks

Below is an excerpt from Wiki about this Caliph :

Al-Walid ibn Abd
al-Malik (Arabic: الوليد بن عبد
الملك‎) or
Al-Walid
I (668 – 23 February
715) was an Umayyadcaliph who ruled from 705 to his death in
715. His reign saw the greatest expansion of the Caliphate, as successful
campaigns were undertaken in Transoxiana, Sind, Hispania and against the Byzantines.

He was born to Abd
al-Malik ibn Marwan and his wife who was from the central Arabian region Najd. Walid continued the expansion of the
Islamic empire that was sparked by his father, and was an effective ruler. His
father Abd al-Malik had taken the oath of allegiance for Walid during his
lifetime. As such the succession of Walid was not
contested. His reign was marked by endless successions of conquests east and
west, and historians consider his reign as the apex of Islamic power.

Walid himself continued the effective rule that was characteristic of his
father, he developed a welfare system, built hospitals, educational institutions
and measures for the appreciation of art.

In 691, Caliph Abd
al-Malik ordered that the Dome of the Rock be built on the site where
the Prophet Muhammad begun his journey to heaven (Meraj) on
the Temple Mount. About a
decade afterward, Walid ordered the building of Al-Aqsa Mosque. It was under the rule of Walid
and his father Abd al-Malik that Christians and Jews were granted the official
title of "Peoples of the Book" to underline the
common monotheistic roots they shared with Islam.

Walid himself was an
enthusiast of architecture and he repaired and refurbished Masjid al Nabawi in
Medina. He also improved mountain passes
and wells in Hijaz
(al-Tabari v. 23, p. 144). In addition, he renovated the Christian Basilica of
St. John the Baptist to build a great mosque, now known as the Great Mosque of
Damascus or simply the Umayyad Mosque (Arabic: جامع بني أمية الكبير,
transl. Ğām' Banī 'Umayyah al-Kabīr). The mosque holds a shrine which is said to
contain the head of John the Baptist, honoured as a prophet by Muslims and
Christians alike (John the Baptist is considered a Prophet of Islam and
is known as Yahya). The
head was supposedly found during the excavations for the building of the mosque.
The tomb of
Saladin stands in a small garden adjoining the north wall of the mosque.

He was also known for
his own personal piety, and many stories tell of his continual reciting of the
Qur'an and the
large feasts he hosted for those fasting during Ramadan. He was married to Umm Banin bint Abdul Aziz
ibn Marwan ibn Hakam.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

I acquired this Quran from a friend in Istanbul. This Quran was originally from Syria, however the family who owned this Quran migrated to Turkey and brought this Quran along. This is a huge Quran with beautiful handwritten calligraphy. Normally we see in Ottoman Quran that Muhaqqaq script is written for titles & subtitles; Naskh normally is the main script used for the entire text. However in this case, Muhaqqaq is used all through out.
Texts are written within double red-line frame with beautiful ornaments in margin. The first 2
pages are beautifully gold gilded & illuminated. Covers seem original.
Very thick manuscript with over 800 follios.

It's undated ( or I couldn't locate the date) but there is a note written on the inner back cover in Turkish language mentioning the earthquake that occurred in 1289 AH ( 1872 CE) when the note was written. This indicated this Quran was written way before the year 1872 CE. Further googling showed that there was a big earthquake occured in 1872 CE somewhere eastern Turkey & Western Syria particularly in Antakiah ( Entioch). I believed this Quran must be located somewhere in Antakiah as the city was under Syria at that time.

The last few leaves there are notes beautifully written and some illustrations explaining the rule of Tajwid & the Qiraah of Quran.

This is a parchment written in old French about the purchase of land. I purchased this manuscript quite some time ago. Eventhough I am more interested in Arabic & Islamic Manuscripts, I acquired this manuscript to compare the western writing tradition with the Islamic writing tradition. The material used in this manuscript is from sheep leather written on both sides. There is a date 1640 CE written on the bottom of the deed.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

This is a handwritten Quran from Indian region. Texts are written in Naskh
script within double red-line & blue-line frame. The first 2
pages are beautifully gold gilded & illuminated. Covers were repaired with a flap.
Very thich manuscript with over 1000 follios. Some pages were decorated with gold medallions in margin. It's undated but from the design &
illumination I would safely estimate it was written between 18th-19th century.